Smart Map capability questions

[JustinThomason]

Hello all,

I've got a couple of questions about Smart Maps. I've been playing around with Realm Works for a little bit, but I'm about to start prep in earnest for a massive exploration and kingdom building campaign (Kingmaker AP from Paizo). I am really jazzed about using RW for this and I think it's going to be great for keeping track of all the NPCs and plot threads I'm anticipating.

One of the big things I think RW will help with is revealing the map to the players as they explore the wilderness - I'm planning on using lots of pins to connect the big overland map to individual encounters and the like.

However, I haven't really dug into the functionality of smart images yet, so I have a couple of specific questions.

First, as the campaign progresses the map will be changed - settlements will be founded, improvements (roads, farms, etc) will be made. Is there any way to edit images once they've been imported into Realm Works? Settlements and the like would probably be added with pins, but I would like to have some way to draw roads (and possibly borders) as things grow and develop. I don't believe there is any editing functionality built into RW, but is it possible to replace the underlying image while leaving the pins in place?

The second question I have has to do with pin images. I saw in some of the upcoming features that custom pin images are on the roadmap - I think this is a fantastic and much needed feature so a monster lair and a settlement could be easily distinguished from the legend. I know there are a lot of improvements in the pipeline, but is this one on the sooner end of things, or the later end of things? Also, if I start adding content to the map with the current pin image, will it be possible to switch out that image for a new one once the feature is added?

Thanks.

[Silveras]

Re: 1
As I understand it, if you keep the image dimensions the same, you should be able to replace the existing map with an updated one (edited in some other program). I would advise testing that to make sure you're comfortable with how it works.

Re: 2
Nothing has been said on that front that I know of, yet. It *may* turn out to be one of the smaller changes that gets done in spare moments while working on the missing big features (Player Access, Calendars, Repository, Marketplace, etc.). but in that case we may not get any definite word until it is completed.

[jkthomsen9]

Originally Posted by Silveras

Re: 1
As I understand it, if you keep the image dimensions the same, you should be able to replace the existing map with an updated one (edited in some other program). I would advise testing that to make sure you're comfortable with how it works.

That would work, but I would recommend leaving the old map and exporting it to another program to do your additions and import that as a new map. This way you will have an archive of the kingdom as it progresses. I would incrementally change the name of the maps to be "Kingdom of X circa 1857" Ect. In this way you could look back at what the kingdom looked like 20 years ago.

[AEIOU]

Maps are the one snippet I'd like to be able to clone. Multiple versions over time is a good reason but if we get layers, that will be the better solution.

I currently have a master entry for each dungeon level with the map which I can open in a tab. But it would be convenient to include that map from each room's entry. And for fog-of-war to follow to all the room entries.

[JustinThomason]

Originally Posted by jkthomsen9

That would work, but I would recommend leaving the old map and exporting it to another program to do your additions and import that as a new map. This way you will have an archive of the kingdom as it progresses. I would incrementally change the name of the maps to be "Kingdom of X circa 1857" Ect. In this way you could look back at what the kingdom looked like 20 years ago.

That's a great idea! I will definitely be doing this.

Thanks for the input all - I'll play around with smart images and make sure I can get the replacement to work as I'm hoping it will before we start, but this has given me some hope that I can get it to work the way I want it to.

[GThiel]

As long as the map stays the same dimensions, it can be cleared and replaced and the pins stay in the same location. It is important to make your original map as complete as possible for the location you are working with, Because if you want to add areas to the borders, it will change the dimensions and nothing will line up.

I use images I've scanned in, Dungeons created with Dunjinni, or terrain maps created with RPG Manager, all saved as JPGs. If I need to make changes I can modify the Original map using the creating program or the old standard Paint to recolor, add text, or draw simple shapes and reload the changed image. This has worked well for me.

(Now if I only had Pins of differing colors or shapes .. .. .. Hint Hint)

[davidp]

Originally Posted by GThiel

... all saved as JPGs...

You might find better space savings if you saved as PNG files, instead. For things that aren't photo-realistic, PNG often compresses better than JPG and has the side benefit of it being a lossless compression so you still can recreate all of the original bits of the image.